After several years of being a speaker for Actos, I got the axe. This does not come as a shock given the life cycle of the product (though I would think with your current products, upcomming products and pipeline; you would want spend significant dollars promoting Actos up until it goes generic). What is upsetting is not that I was "fired", but the manner in which it was done. Here's the email I received today:

Dear Speaker, MD:

Thank you for your commitment to Takeda and for your participation in the Diabetes Speaker Bureau.

As we continue to evolve in this changing landscape, we have re-evaluated the strategic needs of the Diabetes Speaker Bureau. Unfortunately, due to this re-evaluation, we are unable to renew your contract for fiscal year 2011.

We truly value our partnership and hope that there are additional opportunities to collaborate with you in the future. Thank you, again, for your support and commitment to Takeda and your participation in the Diabetes Speaker Bureau. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Christopher Caggiano at (224) 554-1775.

Sincerely,

The ACTOS Professional Marketing Team

That's it?!?!?!
After years of programs in offices and restaurants, trying my best to promote the value of TZD's in the use of type 2 diabetes to many physicians simply too scared to use them under restrictions that border on censorhip; that's all I get? A dear Dr. John letter?
I think I deserve a little bit more than that. How about something that sounds almost like Takeda is sorry to see me go?

Now, I understand I am speaking to a group of people that fear being fired on a daily basis. However, I am not employee of the company, but rather a customer. A very loyal one at that. After receiving an email like this, how excited to you think I am going to be about writing prescriptions for Uloric, Dexilant, and that new ARB you have coming out?

I really hope that Takeda treats their employees/reps better than they treat their speakers. Somehow I doubt it.

After several years of being a speaker for Actos, I got the axe. This does not come as a shock given the life cycle of the product (though I would think with your current products, upcomming products and pipeline; you would want spend significant dollars promoting Actos up until it goes generic). What is upsetting is not that I was "fired", but the manner in which it was done. Here's the email I received today:

Dear Speaker, MD:

Thank you for your commitment to Takeda and for your participation in the Diabetes Speaker Bureau.

As we continue to evolve in this changing landscape, we have re-evaluated the strategic needs of the Diabetes Speaker Bureau. Unfortunately, due to this re-evaluation, we are unable to renew your contract for fiscal year 2011.

We truly value our partnership and hope that there are additional opportunities to collaborate with you in the future. Thank you, again, for your support and commitment to Takeda and your participation in the Diabetes Speaker Bureau. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Christopher Caggiano at (224) 554-1775.

Sincerely,

The ACTOS Professional Marketing Team

That's it?!?!?!
After years of programs in offices and restaurants, trying my best to promote the value of TZD's in the use of type 2 diabetes to many physicians simply too scared to use them under restrictions that border on censorhip; that's all I get? A dear Dr. John letter?
I think I deserve a little bit more than that. How about something that sounds almost like Takeda is sorry to see me go?

Now, I understand I am speaking to a group of people that fear being fired on a daily basis. However, I am not employee of the company, but rather a customer. A very loyal one at that. After receiving an email like this, how excited to you think I am going to be about writing prescriptions for Uloric, Dexilant, and that new ARB you have coming out?

I really hope that Takeda treats their employees/reps better than they treat their speakers. Somehow I doubt it.

Really? Yuo want them to write you a poem?

You say you want to see they are sorry to see you go? Why? So it somehow satisfies some egotistical urge? Just move on.

You say you want to see they are sorry to see you go? Why? So it somehow satisfies some egotistical urge? Just move on.

Hey if you are a former speaker. Please disregard the above post. The truth is that there is a HUGE disconnect between our home office and the field. Your Actos rep should have been showing you the writing on the wall over the past year and let you know we are phasing out most promotional activity for Actos being in its last year. Bottom line is that you should get treated better, especially since we will be knocking on your door in a year or two as if we are best friends and hoping you come back. Thanks for the support and please make sure you do more than post here. Leave a message for someone in Chicago and let them know the right and wrong ways of ending professional relationships after an 11 year ride.

Its a business relaltionship. All niceties in business mean nothing. You try and be nice just becasue its better than the alternative of being nasty when you work together. When you dont intend to work together, tata byebye.

After several years of being a speaker for Actos, I got the axe. This does not come as a shock given the life cycle of the product (though I would think with your current products, upcomming products and pipeline; you would want spend significant dollars promoting Actos up until it goes generic). What is upsetting is not that I was "fired", but the manner in which it was done. Here's the email I received today:

Dear Speaker, MD:

Thank you for your commitment to Takeda and for your participation in the Diabetes Speaker Bureau.

As we continue to evolve in this changing landscape, we have re-evaluated the strategic needs of the Diabetes Speaker Bureau. Unfortunately, due to this re-evaluation, we are unable to renew your contract for fiscal year 2011.

We truly value our partnership and hope that there are additional opportunities to collaborate with you in the future. Thank you, again, for your support and commitment to Takeda and your participation in the Diabetes Speaker Bureau. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact Christopher Caggiano at (224) 554-1775.

Sincerely,

The ACTOS Professional Marketing Team

That's it?!?!?!
After years of programs in offices and restaurants, trying my best to promote the value of TZD's in the use of type 2 diabetes to many physicians simply too scared to use them under restrictions that border on censorhip; that's all I get? A dear Dr. John letter?
I think I deserve a little bit more than that. How about something that sounds almost like Takeda is sorry to see me go?

Now, I understand I am speaking to a group of people that fear being fired on a daily basis. However, I am not employee of the company, but rather a customer. A very loyal one at that. After receiving an email like this, how excited to you think I am going to be about writing prescriptions for Uloric, Dexilant, and that new ARB you have coming out?

I really hope that Takeda treats their employees/reps better than they treat their speakers. Somehow I doubt it.

Sorry that your gravy train of supplemental cash came to an end. A phone call would have been much more tactful, that is not the Takeda big corporation way of doing business.

Be grateful you were chosen for the time you spoke for a paycheck and move on. Or find another company that will pick you up to speak.

Whoever posted that last comment should be fired!!!! You are a VERY RUDE person and VERY DISGUSTING!! I'm sure your mother would be proud to say you are her son talking like that!! You should be ASHAMED!!!

To the doctor who posted that letter........I'm not surprised ONE BIT that Takeda conducted business in such a distasteful manner. You definitely deserve more than a good bye letter. Takeda could care less about you and their employees..... VERY disappointing company to say the least........

To the former speaker: I am a rep who truly values my relationship with my speakers and appreciate what they do to promote our products. I am so sorry and mortified at a few of the above posts. Please know these reps would never be calling on you because they are imature little punks who don't appreciate their job and folks like you who work hard.
I had a similar situation with one of our speakers and she was very disheartened and felt very under appreciated.
I am sorry you weren't treated with more respect. Please know you were/are valued.

If this is a legit email, it's a shame you came to Cafe Pharma seeking to vent your frustration or seeking advice. As you can see from this board (and pretty much all other company boards) this site is rife w/ unprofessional posts from reps with "entitlement" mentalities. I apologize from those of us that take our jobs seriously and as you can see there are some of us here. I encourage you to contact the phone number you've been given and let know that you were unsatisfied with the brevity of the letter you received. The Actos marketing team should have sent communications long before now for our speakers to anticipate a dramatic decrease in available programs. It's true that Takeda will probably be knocking on your door at a later date requiring your services and I hope you won't hold it against your local reps that this change wasn't handled more smoothly. To other reps reading this, if you are one of the habitual whiners on this site, give the doc a break (and assume this is legit). This person clearly valued the relationship with Takeda and enjoyed speaking on our behalf. You all know that speakers can make significant impact with other physicians and play an important part of our business. Maybe you all should spend less time spewing your vitriol and more time selling your products...also I don't care how you think Takeda "sucks" now. ALL of pharma is in the same shape, get over it already! You are employed with a company more stable than others. How many laid off reps would kill to have your job? Perhaps some on this board should contemplate their blessings!

We are so sorry that your fucking weekly Mercedes/BMW/Caribbean Vacation checks and "meal to go" installation program has come to an abrupt halt ---> FUCK YOU

And we all know that the TZD class of drugs is dangerous and potentially deadly, why in the hell do you think we needed your fat ass in the first place?

Now go earn your money, like everyone else has to ---> by working

Signed,

The Actos Marketing Team

AMEN to the above post!! How about being a doctor - and quit looking for handouts to speak. Over the years I have noticed that 90% of all MD's that speak have a very greedy mentality and are looking to game the system. So fuck you and your greedy little hurt feelings. And fuck Takeda and the pharma industry for slutting you guys like whores.

I can't believe what I'm seeing in this thread, ridiculous. You people are ruining this site! If you are still upset about losing your job and believe trashing people venting about there experience with Takeda on here, you are a complete loser. Try a different board, I'm sure Walmart has one somewhere!!!!!!!

I can't believe what I'm seeing in this thread, ridiculous. You people are ruining this site! If you are still upset about losing your job and believe trashing people venting about there experience with Takeda on here, you are a complete loser. Try a different board, I'm sure Walmart has one somewhere!!!!!!!

Sorry, I was so mad I didn't even consider grammar or spell check, but I'm sure one of you assholes will point it out and correct it for me!

To the former speaker: I am a rep who truly values my relationship with my speakers and appreciate what they do to promote our products. I am so sorry and mortified at a few of the above posts. Please know these reps would never be calling on you because they are imature little punks who don't appreciate their job and folks like you who work hard.
I had a similar situation with one of our speakers and she was very disheartened and felt very under appreciated.
I am sorry you weren't treated with more respect. Please know you were/are valued.

Update and comments:
1. I received an overnight FedEx today with the same exact letter. Clearly legal is involved, which may in part explain the brief letter.
2. I received a "correction" email (sent to all speakers) identifying who Christopher Caggiano is (with the brand team). Since this email came a day or two after the initial email, I would not be surprised if someone in Takeda read this thread and alerted the brand team (if so, thank you).

Though Cafepharma message board are full of unprofessional comments and snarky (though often very funny) remarks, as a physician occaissionally check it out because I find it a valuable source of non-public information. (The Takeda thread about the efficacy of Dexilant and what's in your PI was very interesting).

I posted my original message here because:
1. I know many reps read this.
2. Many reps have speakers they call on, and wanted you to be aware of what happened to me (since I realize corporate often leaves you in the dark) so you were prepared the next time you called on your speaker.
3. I was hoping that someone at a high level in marketing or sales would see this post (or become aware of this post) and get the message that a "Dear Dr." email firing your speakers was not appreciated. I believe I was successful.

To all those that responded seriously to my post, thank you. To the haters I can tell you that I don't drive a Mercedes, take luxurious vacations, and have made a boat load from speaking on behalf of Takeda. Though I do make a six figure salary, given the way insurance reimburses physicans, I know for a fact that I make less then your DM's and some of the field reps that hit their targets. The money for speaking is certainly appreciated, and does help me financially. However, I would not speak if I didn't believe in Actos or think I was doing some good. As the diabetes reps know, many physicians are not nearly aggressive enough about treating their patients, don't know the guidelines, and are reluctant to use anything that's not generic. I believe these programs served a valuable purpose and sorry that your company will no longer be doing them (despite the fact that Actos still has many months before it goes generic).

Update and comments:
1. I received an overnight FedEx today with the same exact letter. Clearly legal is involved, which may in part explain the brief letter.
2. I received a "correction" email (sent to all speakers) identifying who Christopher Caggiano is (with the brand team). Since this email came a day or two after the initial email, I would not be surprised if someone in Takeda read this thread and alerted the brand team (if so, thank you).

Though Cafepharma message board are full of unprofessional comments and snarky (though often very funny) remarks, as a physician occaissionally check it out because I find it a valuable source of non-public information. (The Takeda thread about the efficacy of Dexilant and what's in your PI was very interesting).

I posted my original message here because:
1. I know many reps read this.
2. Many reps have speakers they call on, and wanted you to be aware of what happened to me (since I realize corporate often leaves you in the dark) so you were prepared the next time you called on your speaker.
3. I was hoping that someone at a high level in marketing or sales would see this post (or become aware of this post) and get the message that a "Dear Dr." email firing your speakers was not appreciated. I believe I was successful.

To all those that responded seriously to my post, thank you. To the haters I can tell you that I don't drive a Mercedes, take luxurious vacations, and have made a boat load from speaking on behalf of Takeda. Though I do make a six figure salary, given the way insurance reimburses physicans, I know for a fact that I make less then your DM's and some of the field reps that hit their targets. The money for speaking is certainly appreciated, and does help me financially. However, I would not speak if I didn't believe in Actos or think I was doing some good. As the diabetes reps know, many physicians are not nearly aggressive enough about treating their patients, don't know the guidelines, and are reluctant to use anything that's not generic. I believe these programs served a valuable purpose and sorry that your company will no longer be doing them (despite the fact that Actos still has many months before it goes generic).

You seem legit. Glad your post got the idiots attention in Chicago. Also glad you get diabetes. Hope you are back in a couple years.

Update and comments:
occaissionally check it out because I find it a valuable source of non-public information. (The Takeda thread about the efficacy of Dexilant and what's in your PI was very interesting).

To the haters I can tell you that I don't drive a Mercedes, take luxurious vacations, and have made a boat load from speaking on behalf of Takeda. Though I do make a six figure salary, given the way insurance reimburses physicans, I know for a fact that I make less then your DM's and some of the field reps that hit their targets.

Not a shock that you dont drive a Mercedes, if you get your medical "non public" information from a gossip and bitch board like this.

Dear Doctor,
I don't know the circumstances behind the letter you received, but I do know a few things about speakers' bureaus in general-not specfic to Takeda. First, pharma companies can't keep speakers on contract if they don't perform a specific number of talks per year. I don't know if that's your case or not, but you would know. I would be concerned by your linking your "Dear John" letter to your writing of prescriptions for Takeda products. It is unethical for companies to hire speakers as a "bribe" for writing more scripts. If you had projected that impression as you have in your post here, that may have been an issue for the company. I'm not going to join the other posters in rebuking your income. I, for one, think doctors deserve their income given the education they have had and the costs they incur due to malpractice insurance. But please understand that pharma companies have business rules they must abide by.

1. I get medical information from a variety of sources: the literature/CME like most docs who keep up to date (which as you probably know is not very many), the industry (reps, ad boards), and the media (once one of my reps told me about First Watch, I signed up right away). Though I only come to Cafe Pharma once in a while, it is just one of many sources that can be useful in clinical practice. When multiple reps from one company post about the "dog" they are trying to sell, this causes me to look at the data with an even more critical eye.
2. Just to be clear, I do not believe my contract was terminated due to script writing. I write tons of Actos scripts (regardless of my speaker status). My understanding (and please correct me if this is wrong), is that as of 4/1 Takeda made a business decision (an unwise one in my opinion if you still have a year to go before generic pio is on the market) to substantially cut the promotional budget for Actos. My understanding is that there will be very few (if any) lunch or dinner talks for Actos moving forward, and that almost all speakers except the very high level national speakers had their contracts terminated. Don't know the numbers of docs that got the axe like I did, but I suspect it was several hundred. My whole point was that if Takeda has several hundred valued customers that are also KOL's/speakers/advisors; a short, generic, unapologetic email was not the best way to treat them.

Please go take a business 101 class immediately...Maybe then, you'll learn how to run your office and won't be so dependent on weekly speaker checks...

Takeda has made a very smart business decision - Actos is running its course and Takeda realizes that energy / resources must be focused in other areas in order to protect their future. So sorry if your dumb ass does not understand this concept.

oh boy! Once again Doctor.....I am so sorry that you have to deal with the immature punk who wrote above me. Honestly? I am so embarrased and the above poster should be fired! You wouldn't survive at burger king w/ your attitude. Do you not understand the speaker felt a little jaded? It is not rocket science. He is not looking for hand outs, just respect.
Please Doc, don't let the punk rep above reflect poorly on Takeda reps. So glad the rep above isn't my partner. You should be fired.

oh boy! Once again Doctor.....I am so sorry that you have to deal with the immature punk who wrote above me. Honestly? I am so embarrased and the above poster should be fired! You wouldn't survive at burger king w/ your attitude. Do you not understand the speaker felt a little jaded? It is not rocket science. He is not looking for hand outs, just respect.
Please Doc, don't let the punk rep above reflect poorly on Takeda reps. So glad the rep above isn't my partner. You should be fired.

waaahhh waaahhh wahhhh

what kind of "jaded" doctor feels the need to come onto cafepharma and air out his feelings???

Doc - these boards are filled with trolls, psychotic passive-aggressives, losers, and hate-filled failures. As a result, you cannot have an intelligent exchange of views on any Cafepharma board. You have stated your case and views. I suggest you move on and let the monkees climb on, and sh*t on your letter, until they become bored and move on.

Doc - these boards are filled with trolls, psychotic passive-aggressives, losers, and hate-filled failures. As a result, you cannot have an intelligent exchange of views on any Cafepharma board. You have stated your case and views. I suggest you move on and let the monkees climb on, and sh*t on your letter, until they become bored and move on.

1. I get medical information from a variety of sources: the literature/CME like most docs who keep up to date (which as you probably know is not very many), the industry (reps, ad boards), and the media (once one of my reps told me about First Watch, I signed up right away). Though I only come to Cafe Pharma once in a while, it is just one of many sources that can be useful in clinical practice. When multiple reps from one company post about the "dog" they are trying to sell, this causes me to look at the data with an even more critical eye.